Genetic Associations and Architecture of Asthma-COPD Overlap
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Some people have characteristics of both asthma and COPD (asthma-COPD overlap), and evidence suggests they experience worse outcomes than those with either condition alone. RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the genetic architecture of asthma-COPD overlap, and do the determinants of risk for asthma-COPD overlap differ from those for COPD or asthma? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a genome-wide association study in 8,068 asthma-COPD overlap case subjects and 40,360 control subjects without asthma or COPD of European ancestry in UK Biobank (stage 1). We followed up promising signals (P < 5 × 10-6) that remained associated in analyses comparing (1) asthma-COPD overlap vs asthma-only control subjects, and (2) asthma-COPD overlap vs COPD-only control subjects. These variants were analyzed in 12 independent cohorts (stage 2). RESULTS: We selected 31 independent variants for further investigation in stage 2, and discovered eight novel signals (P < 5 × 10-8) for asthma-COPD overlap (meta-analysis of stage 1 and 2 studies). These signals suggest a spectrum of shared genetic influences, some predominantly influencing asthma (FAM105A, GLB1, PHB, TSLP), others predominantly influencing fixed airflow obstruction (IL17RD, C5orf56, HLA-DQB1). One intergenic signal on chromosome 5 had not been previously associated with asthma, COPD, or lung function. Subgroup analyses suggested that associations at these eight signals were not driven by smoking or age at asthma diagnosis, and in phenome-wide scans, eosinophil counts, atopy, and asthma traits were prominent. INTERPRETATION: We identified eight signals for asthma-COPD overlap, which may represent loci that predispose to type 2 inflammation, and serious long-term consequences of asthma.
Date Issued
2022-05-01
Date Acceptance
2021-12-21
Citation
Chest, 2022, 161 (5), pp.1155-1166
ISSN
0012-3692
Publisher
American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)
Start Page
1155
End Page
1166
Journal / Book Title
Chest
Volume
161
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
Ó 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc under li-
cense from the American College of Chest Physicians. This is an open
access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/).
cense from the American College of Chest Physicians. This is an open
access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35104449
PII: S0012-3692(22)00198-2
Subjects
COPD
asthma
epidemiology
genome-wide association study
spirometry
Asthma
Genome-Wide Association Study
Humans
Lung
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Smoking
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2022-01-31